


The Innocent Second Act

by sevenstevearmy



Series: Courting of Course [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Logic | Logan Sanders Angst, Prinxiety - Freeform, demus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 02:43:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21008411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenstevearmy/pseuds/sevenstevearmy
Summary: Finding an old picture book sparks a discovery. They keep trying to make things right.





	The Innocent Second Act

**Author's Note:**

> LAMP is closer. It's being shipped over seas from somewhere... over seas.

Logan was slowly but surely garnering a large collection of flowers and rocks. Virgil at least had the sense to not leave him things after each encounter. He didn’t really mind, but Roman’s flowers never wilted and Patton’s rocks started to take over his floor. He already had a bin full of them. It wasn’t like they would notice if he got rid of some of them, right? But which ones? He wasn’t normally sentimental, but these did bring up certain memories, from before everything got so complicated. From before _he_ was lost forever. But that didn’t matter now. The past should stay in the past where it belongs. For now he would sort through the flowers and rocks. He did have time to spare, after all.  
In the end, he kept the violets and pressed them in his largest books. He also kept a daffodil and a daisy, as well as a red begonia. He randomly arranged a few in a vase and got rid of the rest. The flowers were the easy part. As far as rocks went, Patton had been very diligent to pick different kinds. Maybe he was finally using the geology book he had given him all those years ago. He kept the rose quartz, aventurine, tiger’s eye, dalmatian jasper, opal, amethyst, and one rock that was black with a white stripe that Patton said was lucky and made a small rock garden. While he got rid of the rest, he did keep them in a place that was accessible should he ever want to go through them again.  
As he finished he heard a knock. He groaned. Hopefully it wasn’t Roman or Patton. They really needed to find more interests that didn’t involve filling his room with things.

“Come in.”  
“Those flowers look horrific but oh, so like you.”  
“Oh, Jay. Thank goodness it’s you. I don’t think I can take much more of this. I appreciate the effort, truly, and I do like to spend time with them, and I really do want to bridge the gap that’s been between us, but I could also use a break. I’m not used to so much attention. It’s overwhelming. Now I know how Virgil feels.”  
“Well you didn’t bring this on yourself by giving them permission to try. But I totally can’t understand where you’re coming from. I don’t suppose they know about us, your dark friends?”  
“They don’t. It’s just another thing they’ve never listened to me about. Though I suppose now they might. How’s Remus?”  
“An angel as always. He’s not glad his brother finally came around but he isn’t jealous that your time is going to be all taken up. He absolutely hates you, you know. Your his worst friend.”  
“I know. Tell him I’ll come by Friday night. That’s the only guaranteed alone time I get.”  
“I shouldn’t get going before one of the others comes knocking. I won’t see you later.”

Just as he said that a new knock came and he gave a salute before sinking out. Logan waited until he was gone before answering the knock.

“Come in.”  
Patton opened the door and gave a sort of shy smile. “Hiya, Logan. Um, the others and I were wondering if you would like to have another night under the stars? Only if you want to. No pressure.”  
“What time should I be ready?”  
“Oh! Does around 8 work for you?”  
“I believe it does.”  
“Ok! I’ll let the others know. See you then!”

Logan agreed, partially because astronomy is one of his favorite things, but also because he needed to talk with the others. They were spending time with him because they wanted him to be happy, but was it because they cared for him, or because they felt bad? Were they asking him questions and learning new things because they were interested and really wanted to know what he had to say, or because they thought that was the way to make him happy? Virgil seemed the most genuine, but his relationship with Virgil was much different than his relationships with Patton and Roman. Virgil had been separated from them for a while and when he came back he was so different. He had grown and changed with Thomas as he began to have more to fear than a monster under the bed. Since Virgil hadn’t been very active in Thomas’s childhood, they had barely gotten to know each other in the first place. Virgil was a lot more understanding to his situation and had been since before Patton and Roman had realized what was going on. That didn’t mean they didn’t still have bad days, but it was just… different.  
Patton was kind, but he was kind to everyone, or at least, he tried to be. And if he wasn’t being kind he was certainly being nice, but right then that was what Logan feared more than anything. Being nice is decency, but being kind is caring, and he didn’t think he’d be able to handle this all only being niceties. Roman felt a certain duty. Logan couldn’t tell if this all was remorse or him playing a part. Worse yet would be if it was pity. And there he went overthinking and worrying again. Pretty soon he’d out anxiety, Anxiety and that would not be a good situation.  
Then there came the situation of him hanging out with the “dark” sides. Not that Logan believed such a division truly existed, but the others did. Virgil had had a falling out over something Logan had no information on, Roman didn’t mind them, but like his brother he was the jealous type, and Patton, while nice to them, was the most wary of them. He felt a need to continue this experiment if only to get them to accept the others, but he also needed to know the truth. It’s hard to tell fact from fiction when half truths and omissions were so frequent. Logan had learned long ago that everyone you could ever meet has ulterior motives and you won’t know if they’re good or bad until it’s too late, but if you ask a question enough times they will slip up and reveal something. 

Logan busied himself with pacing and sudoku until the time came to join the others. He made his way downstairs at exactly 8 pm and found Patton waiting for him.

“Roman is setting everything up and Virgil went with him to make sure he didn’t go too crazy.”  
“Ah. Before we get started tonight there’s actually some things I would like to discuss with the group.”  
“Oh! Of course! I can go ahead to let them know if you’d like.”  
“That would be ideal.”  
“Ok. Give me five minutes and we should be ready.”  
“Will do.”

When Logan walked to their usual spot, he found three sides nervously awaiting him.

“So… You wanted to talk to us about something?” Virgil was the most worried, though that was to be expected.  
“Yes. I am appreciative of your recent efforts, but before I allow myself to accept them, I must be sure they are coming from the right place.”

Logan began to voice his concerns and their eyes began to grow wide. _They_ knew they were being genuine, but how could they prove it? Should they put in more effort? Should they be more casual?

“And the other, arguably more important, point I want to make tonight is that you all need to be better to Janus and Remus. I’ve seen your efforts towards them recently as well, but you’re going to need to step it up. Roman has always been the best with them so this is really more towards you, Patton and Virgil.”  
“I’m trying, Logan, really! I make them cookies and I tell them jokes, but Remus just makes me uncomfortable.”  
“I’m not asking you to be friends, but Remus and Janus should be able to walk around the commons as freely as any of us.”  
“Ok… but can I ask why you’re bringing this up now?”  
“Put simply, they are my friends and I do not wish to see them excluded any longer.”  
“Fr-friends? Since when?”  
“Yes, Logan, since when did you become friends with my brother?”  
“We’ve been friends for a long time. It was only later that we were forced to separate and now the cat’s out of the bag and I can see him as I please. And Janus’s and my abilities are opposite but complementary, plus we have similar interests.”  
“Ok.” Virgil finally spoke up. “I know them well too, and Logan’s right. Everything got so complicated and it’s like factions were formed, but that’s unnecessary now. I think we’ve all forgotten what we were fighting over anyway.”  
“They would be very happy to hear you say that. They miss you, you know.”  
“Really… Oh.”  
“Now, are we still having a night under the stars?”

Roman had a lot to unpack from that conversation. He got this feeling in his chest when Logan talked about his brother. What it was he couldn’t quite pinpoint. He could vaguely remember a time from before the split when he- they- whatever was hanging out with Logan. He could see the stars in his eyes. Someone else was there… Who? Oh, it was Janus. Lying had been a fairly new addition at that time. Logan, Janus, and the him that wasn’t him. Then the teenage years came and everything became complicated. There was the split followed by the sectioning off of Thomas’s mind. He wanted back what he had, but what did he have? He couldn’t quite decipher their relationship, the memory was too foggy. But friend, they were so young, they had been friends. Besides Janus was with Remus, and he was with Virgil. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was something else, and if maybe he had pushed Logan away because of it. Logan had still tried, offering to read his works and make corrections, critiquing his art so he could improve, but he kept pushing it off. And when Logan would come to him to talk about something he had just read, he couldn’t bother to offer to do the same. He always got bored so quickly and he just couldn’t sit still.

Virgil, meanwhile, was having similar thoughts. When he had been in the dark with the others, Logan would somehow manage to get notes to them. He had been their friend for all that time, so it made sense he wouldn’t have stopped just because Virgil came to the light. And when he had, Patton had been the first to greet him open arms and overtly show his kindness, but Logan was the first to treat him as an equal because he always had and never stopped. He had always felt something special for Logan, but it kept getting pushed to the wayside. Every new stressor and every new doubt caused him to push everyone away. Logan still stood on the sidelines for when he was ready to reach out. Only Roman didn’t get the message and had pushed himself in, but yet managed to not be overbearing. They helped each other through a lot. He was with Roman, and that special feeling for Logan had to go, but they were still friends, and Virgil had never stopped noticing him as Roman and Patton did. Virgil always noticed, but sometimes he didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. Even so, Logan had always reached out to him in his times of need.

Patton quite possible felt the worst of all. Not only had he failed as a friend, but he had failed at his whole job. He always liked Logan a bit more than he would admit. Little butterflies flew in his stomach, but eventually he started getting those little butterflies around the others too, and it had been a lot to try to handle. He and Logan were just about opposites, not two sides of the same coin like Logan and Janus, but just opposites. He was so insecure about how emotional he got, and he knew Logan tried, but he didn’t want to overwhelm him. Still, if Logan picked up something was wrong, he would offer to help, but Patton couldn’t bring himself to say yes. And when Logan would get excited he’d try to listen, but he never understood what they were talking about.

And so the story goes Logan offered and offered and helped and helped until he was rejected so many times he stopped trying. He would get excited and start talking only to be brushed off and talked over so he stopped talking. Even with Janus and Remus he hadn’t really smiled in a long time. A smirk on occasion, but not a true smile. Virgil had done by far the least damage, but their relationship was still hurt. 

They were all stressed and confused, but somehow Logan’s voice calmed them, at least temporarily. They just had to focus on it and listen to the stories of the constellations. They looked to him and saw the stars in his eyes. It was like being transported to another dimension. They were kicking themselves yet again for noticing this sooner. All too soon Logan was done. He stayed around for a bit more so the conversation wouldn’t be one sided, but he did have to get his rest.

“Sleep well, Logan,” Roman bid him goodnight.  
“Will we see you at breakfast tomorrow?”  
“You will.”  
“Great! See you then!”  
“Night, Logan.”  
“Goodnight.”

Logan went back to his room while the others laid under the stars for a bit longer.

“So we need a plan to prove we really mean this. Anyone have ideas?” Roman asked.  
“I think maybe we’re being awkward. And trust me, I know awkward. It’s my specialty.” Virgil responded.  
“So how do we not be awkward?” Patton wondered.  
“We need to focus more on the small things, treating him like everything is normal, just not so normal that we gloss over past grievances. Does that make sense?”  
“I see. So we’re putting in the right amount of effort, but we’re putting it in all at once instead of spreading it out, right?” Roman inquired.  
“Yeah. Exactly.”  
“I think we can manage that, right Padre?”  
“I think we can.”


End file.
